Chapter Twenty-Four

Annoyance out-warred the fear of a deadly snake so close, but every time he tried to move the snake it pricked him with it’s fangs then dodged his attempts. It looked like the snake wasn’t going anywhere unless it wanted to.

At least this way it wouldn’t surprise attack him. Easy to keep track of his stalker when it literally coiled on his head. There had to be a reason it wanted to ride along, though. It definitely didn’t lack mobility, so that wasn’t the reason.

Also, why didn’t it use the card? Since the snake refused to leave, he may as well sate his curiosity. The snake was obviously intelligent, after all.

He tilted his head, forcing the snake to coil around his arm before breaking the silence. “Why didn’t you use the card?”

The snake’s tongue flicked out as it stared up at him, annoyance mirroring his own flashing in its eyes. After several seconds, it pointed its head at his bracelets. “You can’t use the card?”

After a moment of hesitation, the snake nodded. “Why claim it then?”

This time, the snake didn’t answer. Instead, it slithered back atop his head, then dipped its tail into his line of sight, pointing forward.

The temptation to go the opposite direction out of spite presented itself, but he knew it would only waste time. Time he didn’t have to waste. If the snake wanted to ride along, there wasn’t much he could do about it.

Maybe it would prove useful if they ran into another powerful creature. Though something told him it would come at a price. The price being it would probably claim a part of the loot. He was sure he would find out what the snake wanted the cards for eventually. It better not be just to collect them.

Even with the deadly snake perched on his head like a scaly crown, he spread his senses wide, looking for any threats before venturing out of the clearing.

A frown formed as he failed to sense the snake, even with its proximity. Fortunately, nothing else jumped out at him, but if the snake could hide from his senses, what else lurked in the forest? Hopefully, the snake pulled its own weight if he ran into something too much for him to handle.

As prepared as he could be, he ventured down another path, or at least tried to. A few steps into the forest, the snake pointed its tail to the right. Arden looked in that direction, but all he saw was a dense forest.

It didn’t appear to care if he saw what it pointed at as it slithered down his body then disappeared under a bush. Moments later, it came back carrying a stack of cards in its mouth. Like with its previous prize, it deposited them in a pocket, then slithered back to its resting place atop his head.

One thing was for sure, the snake didn’t plan to leave him if it raided its horde. Whether that was good or bad was up for discussion.

As if he didn’t know where to go, the snake pointed its tail down the path, ushering its mount forward.

Arden’s hand twitched to swat away the snake, but with a force of will he held off. Instead, he focused outward in case something attacked them. Though going by the snake’s lazily swaying tail in his peripheral vision, he doubted anything would endanger them nearby.

Still, his ears twitched at every sound in the near silent forest as they ventured forward. Soon they came upon another clearing, and like the last, it had a platform.

The closer he got to the platform, the more the snake atop his head twitched before slithering down his back into his robe.

Seeing this reaction, he paused at the base of the trees supporting the platform and focused his senses upward. The aura above gave off an earthy, moist feeling, but he couldn’t quite place it.

It must’ve been another hybrid. Maybe something like plant and water. Was it even worth it to check it out? Did he have the time to check out every platform? He doubted he would align with this trial since he was a pure nature affinity mage.

Despite his doubts, his curiosity pushed him forward. The moment he created the first wood spike rung, the snake evacuate from his robe mouth filled with its card stash. It dove into the nearest bush, disappearing from sight though he got the feeling it still watched him.

All the more reason to check out every platform. He got some alone time from the snake. Something seemed to repel it from the platform. Maybe the same effect applied to every creature.

If so, the platforms were a safe spot. Not that he had enough time to spare to rest for long. Fortunately, the dense mana kept him going. One could get so much more done if they didn’t need to sleep. Though a slight headache barely noticeable in the background of his mind told him there were limits.

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In record time he reached the platform, but as he expected upon glimpsing a blue-green crystal suspended inside clear wood, a gentle nudge pushed him back. He barely had time to read the name engraved on the pedestal before the entrance to the hut sealed closed.

Waterlily sure seemed like a water and plant-based hybrid bloodline, as he thought. Well, that proved he didn’t have water attunement. It looked like that Lily pad card would stay out of his deck for the foreseeable future. The only use he could find for it was to balance his attunements.

He was as green as one could get. About the only nature attunement, and probably the rarest he hadn’t proved he had was biological.

Didn’t his soul tether confirm he had it? Still, he wanted concrete proof, which meant he needed to find a biological attuned card. If he had that one, it opened a ton of doors. Everyone loved healers, after all.

Not that he wanted to fully spec into a healer and leave himself vulnerable. He liked his wood attunement, and the plant was highly versatile. The problem was he doubted he could find enough biological attunement cards to balance his deck with the other attunements. Problems for the future. Balancing his deck didn’t matter until he stepped into magehood at grade one.

Besides, based on the number of strands on his tether, he was missing another attunement, or maybe he was mistaking it for wood attunement, as it had a very similar color.

After staring down at his bracelet’s emerald green color for a couple of moments, he shook his head. Whatever, yet again a problem for later. No point in wasting time speculating.

He hesitated at the edge of the platform, but descended. No point in avoiding the scaly freeloader.

As he predicted, when he stepped away from the trees, a certain snake slithered out of its hiding spot and deposited its hoard in the same pocket it claimed as its own before taking its place atop his head once more.

Without missing a beat, he turned and continued down the path conveniently cut through the forest, likely leading to the next platform. Fortunately, it also led him toward the stronger ambient mana, though the further he went the less strength difference he felt.

Maybe he was nearing the center of the forest? At least he hoped that was the case, or maybe the ambient mana just leveled off after a certain point. If it leveled off, that might be a problem. It would be harder to navigate toward his potential goal.

Soon he came upon yet another clearing with a platform. Upon approaching the trees and sensing the aura above, he got the feeling of what he could best describe as mud. Probably another water nature hybrid. No point in checking it out.

To the snake’s relief, he moved on. Though upon entering the forest once more, a frown formed as his senses came up empty of threats. He should have run into some creature by now. It felt like he stumbled upon something constantly. Yet now everything seemed to steer clear of him.

His focus shifted to the snake, only now realizing it gave off a deadly poisonous aura. A shiver ran through him just feeling it. No wonder nothing attacked him. The snake was proving its use, or maybe it just wanted to expedite things. Who knew what its goals were? Whatever they were, they seemed to involve him and those cards.

Suddenly, Arden came to a halt. For the first time, the path split in not two but three directions. Before he could decide, a scaly tail descended into his line of sight, pointing to the center path.

Despite the snake’s directions Arden spread his senses wide, feeling each path but to his dismay, what he feared would happen. The potency of the ambient mana leveled off.

Still, his cautious side sparked to life, causing him to remain where he was as he focused all his senses on his surroundings. He took in every detail he could within his range. The left and right path seemed to curve back toward the middle path.

Maybe it was a giant circle with the middle path bringing him to the center. Did that mean he reached the deepest part of the forest? It felt like he had to travel further, but maybe he made better progress than he thought.

Despite the snake’s insistence, he took the right path on a whim and trudged forward. If he was right, it should lead him back to the intersection. He would rather narrow things down just in case he missed something than blindly venture to the center, especially if the snake seemed so insistent.

If the snake wanted to go down the center path so badly, it could do it itself. He couldn’t follow the whims of the snake.

Minutes later, he came upon another clearing. This time, when he sensed the platform, he instantly knew he was compatible. It gave off a musty toxic vibe not unlike what he read fungus would smell like.

Instead of climbing the platform right away, he continued on, eager to prove his theory. He could always backtrack. The fact he didn’t want to deal with another poisonous trial helped in his decision, though if he was right, he would face other temptations soon.

His assumption proved right as the next platform lured him in. It gave off a flowery scent practically radiating plant attunement. In fact, it felt stronger than every other platform so far. He wasn’t sure if that meant it was actually stronger or if he had a higher compatibility. Though it wasn’t a lot stronger than the poison platform.

With a force of will, he tore his gaze from the platform and continued on, reaching the next clearing soon after. This one made him pause as he tried to puzzle out what it meant. Unlike the others, which had obvious natural parallels, this one felt off. Not off in a bad way, just different. Warmth not unlike sunlight, coupled with both balance and rejuvenation.

Was this biological attunement? He supposed the warmth was body heat, while balance meant the body sustaining itself. Rejuvenation cycled back to balance and warmth as it returned the body to its peak condition.

Like the fungus and plant platforms, even from the base of the tree, he felt he had a compatibility with the attunement. Higher than fungus, but maybe a step behind plant. That might be because he didn’t have any biological attunement cards. If he embarked on the trial, that would change, but first he needed to finish his exploration.

When he reached the next clearing, he froze. Even from the edge of the clearing, he knew what laid within fit him nearly perfect.

Well, calling it a clearing wasn’t quite right. More like a thinning of trees.